Latest News

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10.07.09 Fall Tilt results are up! Check them out!

The weather held off just long enough for about 50 competitors to make hundreds of laps down the newly opened Mountain Village Bike Park in hopes to take home the victory for completing the greatest number of laps in a 12 hour time period. The day began cold, the sun just peeking into the trees for the first time that day. Frost-covered leaves blanketed the slippery trails leading to the bottom. The starting gun was fired at 9:00am and in Le Man’s fashion, an armada of body armor clad athletes ran up a short hill where their bikes awaited them at the top. “It was a romantic experience with my bicycle” as explained by local Trevor Martin, “The beginning of the day was exciting, our bodies were fresh and eager to get to the bottom of the hill where temperatures were warmer. After about two hours of that, or roughly 8 laps, my excitement dwindled and the fatigue began to set in. From that point on I tried to maintain an ‘auto pilot’ state of mind and concentrate on hanging on and avoiding the trees. 10 hours and 40 laps later I had just received the best news of the day, it was 5 minutes to nine and this would be my last trip up the cold, dark chairlift. With a minuscule, 20 feet of artificially illuminated trail ahead of me I steered my Intense 951 downhill bike along the well programmed route to the bottom, flying over road gaps, jumps, berms rocks and drops, setting the second fastest lap since the sun had set. With 2nd place locked in, it was time to tend to the swelling in my hands with the aid of an ice cold, frosty beverage. Again, it was like a romantic, or love hate relationship; exciting at first, routine (with it’s ups and downs) for most of it, and by the end, I didn’t want to touch my bike with a ten foot stick.”
Crested Butte rider, Ryan ‘The Jedi’ Sutton took the victory in the Pro Men Solo category with 51 laps. Local ace Trevor Martin was close on his heels in 2nd place, completing 49 laps as well as posting some of the days fastest lap times. Picking up the 3rd spot on the podium was Tucson rider Dante Harmony, completing 48 laps. Spouse to Dante, Jacqueline Harmony was the only Pro Female to enter, and still completed a very respectable 31 laps to take her victory. Telluride Local and Mountain Village Bike Park’s biggest contributor Gary Dye managed to break his bike mid-day and finish the remaining out on a borrowed ride. Completing 48 laps, he landed himself a 2nd in the Cat 1 Solo category. Low Sadhu, a Sedona based rider took the Cat 1 Solo victory, tying Gary with 48 laps but finishing his 48th before Gary secured the victory. Dustin Coker, also of Sedona, took 3rd with a day of riding chainless, completing 43 laps. In the Pro Duo (2 person team) Category, The World Cup seasoned Buell brothers took turns to complete a combined 52 laps, taking the victory. Cat 1 Duo was won by locals Jake Anderson and Chris Lyons riding for Telluride Sports, with a combined effort to finish 48 laps. Check out the lap summary for full details of individual lap times for each rider/team.

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09.14.09 It's Official!

The Mountain Village Bike Park has officially opened! Check out the official press release here.

Also, check out Sunday's news paper article.

SMBA would like to give a big shout out to all who contributed! It has been a monumental achievement and we’re happy to say it was worth every blister, sun burn and days of waking up with a sore back. Thanks to the Town of Mountain Village and all of the respective home owners, Telluride Ski and Golf, S.U.N.R.I.S.E. Inc. Dakine, The Telluride Daily Planet, and of course, big brother - the USFS. Big thanks to Tracks Café and Bar for feeding us and keeping us motivated! And most of important of all, everyone that volunteered their time, even for a couple of hours, to come out and help plan, design, build and ride the park. It wouldn’t have been possible without the over 2,000 hours of labor. We’d like to recognize one individual especially for showing up nearly every day of the 6 week build and really taking these trails to the next level; If you see Gary Dye around town or on the trail, give him a big thanks and a pat on the back! You rock Gary!
Job well done! We’ll see you on trail and the first weekend of October for the Grand Opening, Fall Tilt race, and our BikeTober Fest.

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09.10.09 BikeTober Fest!

SMBA is hosting/sponsoring a weekend full of cycling events the first weekend of October! Click here for a schedule and more details.

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07.08.09 Mill creek update and more!

To all of our members, the Forest service has just notified us that they have resumed work on the Mill Creek Bridge project. As scheduled before, they will be meeting at the bridge around 9am every morning and working till about 4 or 5pm. They want people to bring rubber waterproof boots and gloves if you have them. They have some gloves and will provide all tools. Initially they will be working in the creek, thus the waterproof boots. Any time that people can spare will help and is appreciated. Please help spread the word to everyone you know. Thanks for your help!

SMBA will be officially hosting a 'bridge wrap up' work day on this Saturday, July 11th. We will see if we can't get Tracks to cater the event as planned before. Bring your self, your family and all your friends and lets put this bridge to bed!

Last but not least, on Monday July 13th, the final Town Council meeting regarding the Mountain Village DH Mountain Bike Park will be held at noon. Come witness history as we get final approval for this long awaited event! The plan is to begin working on the Full Tilt course as soon as the meeting has been adjourned. SMBA will be working with Tony Forest and the Mountain Village Recreation Department on setting up some build days for the other two planned trails.

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06.29.09 Mill Creek UPDATE We are all bummed that our project was postponed, thanks to all of you who showed your support.

The forest service will be working on the bridge daily for the remainder of the week till Thursday 06.29-07.02. They will be meeting at the bridge around 9am every morning and working till about 4 or 5pm. They want people to bring rubber waterproof boots and gloves if you have them. They have some gloves and will provide all tools. Initially they will be working in the creek, thus the waterproof boots. Any time that people can spare will help and is appreciated. Please help spread the word to everyone you know. Thanks for your help!

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06.06.09: Show your interest for the proposed Downhill Mountain bike park!

Telski, Town of Mountain Village, TMVOA and Tony Forest, with the Mountain Village Recreation department have been working together on a proposal to develop several new trails that would start construction as soon as approvals and permits are secured (Late July). It would be great if we could show that the area residence strongly support the new FREE biking trails. We believe it will help revitalize the MV Core and give everyone more opportunities to enjoy this amazing place we live.

The first meeting to be held is with the Mountain Village Design Review Board on June 11th. The meeting starts at 12:00pm if you can be there in person. I’m not exactly sure when our issue is up on the agenda but will try and get a hold of that info. DRB meets above the Mountain Village fire station. The second important meeting is with the Mountain Village Town Council on July 13th, to determine if the funding will come through. Again, if you can show up in person, please do it! But if you can’t, please take the time to email or send a letter to our Mountain Village Planning Department Director Sally Vecchio. All of the public comments are put before our board and council members, your voice will be heard.

TO EMAIL YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT:

svecchio@mtnvillage.org

SEND LETTERS TO:

Attn: Sally Vecchio
455 Mountain Village Blvd. Suite A
Mountain Village, CO 81435

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05.14.09: Downhill mountain bike park gets preliminary approval from Telski and Forest Service

Good news on the downhill bike front. Forest Service and Telski have given tentative approvals to allow the Town of Mountain Village to build, operate and maintain a downhill park on the mountain. Tony Forrest and his recreation department crew will need obtain a special use permit from Town Council at their June 9th meeting and from DRB on June 11th. In addition TMVO has indicated that they will give a $25,000 grant for the construction of the park. If all this happens, the Ridge Trail will be closed to biking, usage of the park will be free and could be operational by mid July.

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05.11.09: State Senate passes bill to improve cycling on colorado highways

Senate Bill 148, sponsored by Rep. Merrifield and Sen. Greg Brophy, will make cycling in Colorado safer. It requires drivers to provide at least three feet of clearance when passing a bicyclist and sets penalties for motorists who endanger cyclists. "One of the great things about Colorado is that so many people love to bike," said Gov. Ritter, noting that he, Rep. Merrifield and Sen. Brophy all are avid cyclists. "But it also means that cyclists and motorists alike must take extra precautions so that we can share the road safely. This new law will enhance safety for everyone."